Concepts

Ryte is a state machine engine where Standard Schema validators define the shape of everything. The examples on this page use Zod, but Valibot and ArkType work identically. Here's how the pieces fit together.

Workflow

An immutable snapshot of a stateful entity. Every workflow has:

Field	Description
id	Unique identifier (you provide this)
definitionName	Name of the workflow definition
state	Current state name (e.g. "Todo")
data	State-specific data, schema-validated
createdAt	Creation timestamp
updatedAt	Last modification timestamp

Workflows are never mutated directly. You dispatch commands and get back a new snapshot.

States

Each state has a Standard Schema validator that defines its data shape. Different states can have entirely different data.

states: {
  Todo: z.object({ title: z.string() }),
  Done: z.object({ title: z.string(), completedAt: z.coerce.date() }),
}

When you check workflow.state, TypeScript narrows workflow.data to the matching schema automatically.

Commands

Commands are intents dispatched to a workflow. Each command has a payload validated by its schema before any handler runs.

commands: {
  Complete: z.object({}),
  Rename: z.object({ title: z.string() }),
}

Commands are dispatched as router.dispatch(workflow, "Complete", {}).

Events

Events are side effects emitted by handlers during dispatch. They are schema-validated and accumulated per dispatch -- they never leak between dispatches.

events: {
  TaskCompleted: z.object({ taskId: z.string() }),
}

Handlers emit events with emit("TaskCompleted", { taskId: "..." }). Events are returned in result.events after a successful dispatch.

Errors

Errors are typed domain failures declared upfront in the workflow definition. Each error has a code and a schema for its data.

errors: {
  NotAssigned: z.object({}),
  AlreadyCompleted: z.object({ completedAt: z.coerce.date() }),
}

Handlers raise errors with error("NotAssigned", {}). This halts execution, rolls back all mutations, and returns a typed error in the dispatch result. Because errors are schema-defined, both the code and its data are fully type-checked -- you can't raise an error that doesn't exist or pass the wrong data shape.

Middleware

Koa-style onion model. Middleware wraps handlers and can run logic before and after. Three scopes: global, state-scoped, and inline.

router.use(async (_ctx, next) => {
	console.log("before");
	await next();
	console.log("after");
});

Dispatch Cycle

Every router.dispatch(workflow, command) follows this pipeline:

Command In
    |
    v
[Validate command payload against schema]
    |
    v
[Route: find handler by state + command]
    |
    v
[Global middleware -- before]
    |
    v
[State middleware -- before]
    |
    v
[Inline middleware -- before]
    |
    v
[Handler executes]
    |
    v
[Inline middleware -- after]
    |
    v
[State middleware -- after]
    |
    v
[Global middleware -- after]
    |
    v
Result Out (ok: true + workflow + events)
   or
Error Out  (ok: false + error)

If any step throws or returns a domain error, all mutations are discarded and the original workflow is unchanged.

Summary

Concept	Role
Workflow	Immutable state snapshot
State	Schema defining data shape
Command	Intent dispatched to trigger logic
Event	Side effect emitted during dispatch
Error	Typed domain failure with rollback
Middleware	Pipeline wrapping handlers (onion)
Handler	Function that processes a command
Router	Maps state + command to handler